Thank God no one was around when she approached the back of the building. The wing where her quarters was located seemed quiet, and she trotted to the private yard, glad she hadn't taken time to latch her sliding patio door. On the porch, she concentrated on her human form and shifted back, then hurried inside before anyone spotted her.
Padding to the bathroom, she decided on a much-needed shower. But when she got under the hot spray, the soothing effect of the water pounding down was eclipsed by how much she hated that Ryon's scent was being washed away. Her wolf wasn't pleased, either, and was becoming more vocal by the minute.
Out of the shower, she toweled off and dressed. After she'd dried her hair she felt human again-and she tried not to laugh hysterically at that expression that used to mean nothing. She was sitting on the sofa contemplating the waning light outside when there was a knock at the door.
Immediately her pulse started hammering, and she wondered what she'd say to Ryon. She should have known he wouldn't give up so easily. Secretly, she was glad. But when she opened the door, it wasn't Ryon who'd come to see her.
Two women stood there with warm smiles, one a small blonde she knew as Kira, Jax's mate, the other Rowan, Aric's mate. Trying not to show her disappointment, she let them in.
"Hello," she said. "Come inside."
"We're your welcoming committee since the guys are too dense to be social. I'm Kira Locke."
The other woman snorted. "They're not dense. Ryon scared them off, the possessive bastard." The tall, built brunette stuck out her hand. "Rowan Chase."
Daria shook it, then waved a hand at the kitchen. "I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer you guys to drink. I haven't gotten into town, or anywhere else for that matter."
"Not a problem," Rowan replied. "We just wanted to say hello, see if you're settling in, if you need anything."
"Other than a manual for how to deal with wolf shifters? Can't think of anything."
The other women chuckled as they followed her into the living room. "If any man should come with a manual, it's one of the Pack," Kira said. "Jax about drove me out of my mind before I really got him or his world."
"This whole thing is so hard for me to accept," Daria told them, taking a seat on the sofa. Rowan sat next to her. "I don't know how you managed to get used to it."
Rowan shook her head. "I was skeptical when I first met Nick and he started spouting shit about being a PreCog and how they were battling an evil Unseelie who was trying to create a race of super-soldier shifters. I thought he was about one delusion from a nice, long stay at the county asylum."
"Exactly!" The woman understood. "So how did you accept it?"
Rowan shrugged. "I'm a former LAPD cop. I grew up there on the east side, in one of the toughest barrios in the city. I've seen the weirdest stuff you can imagine, and I've handled plenty of dangerous criminals. For my part, present me with irrefutable evidence and I have to believe you."
"You're a show me facts kind of girl."
"Right. Kind of hard to refute a bunch of guys turning into wolves right in front of you, not to mention witnessing them battle demons from the Unseelie Court. Since I'm not crazy, it had to be true."
"My head knows that, but . . ."
"Your heart is having trouble catching up?" Kira guessed.
"Yeah. It's not even that I can't accept Ryon's world, it's just that I was thrust into this by fate, if you will, without any say in the matter."
"That's how it happened with us, too," Kira put in with a laugh. "You're not alone."
"Ryon's world?" Rowan asked. "So it's true, you and him are together?"
"I-I suppose. I mean, when he bit me to save my life, he mated with me." She couldn't help the bitterness in her tone. "He knew biting me would bond us together for life, but he did it anyway. I hate not having a say in the outcome of my own existence."
"Let me ask you, what would you have done differently if you could? Would you have said no, told him to let you die?"
"Well, no. But that's not the issue!" she said defensively. Didn't they get it?
"Isn't it?"
Daria stared at the brunette. "What are you trying to get at? Because I'm not following."
Rowan sighed as she and Kira exchanged a knowing look. "Did Ryon tell you much about Bondmates?"
"Not a lot, except he had to bite me, and now we're bound forever."
"So, he didn't tell you what happens to a shifter if he meets his true mate and doesn't bite her?"
"No, he didn't." She thought back to earlier, when she'd been upset. "I think he was trying to tell me something else, but I wasn't listening at the time. I guess I should have."
"Yes, you should've." Kira's voice was soft, no hint of accusation in her tone. Only understanding. "Once a shifter meets his mate, scents her, it's all over for him. He can't become physically aroused by another potential sexual partner, ever. If he doesn't bite his mate, and claim her, within a certain amount of time, usually a couple of weeks, he becomes ill with flulike symptoms."
She scrambled to process what Kira was saying. "He becomes impotent for anyone else, and he'll get sick?"
"Exactly. "
"So, if Ryon hadn't bitten me?"
"Within two or three weeks, he would've been dead."
Daria reeled from the revelation. "No."
"I'm afraid so." Kira took her hand. "When Ryon told you that he had no choice, he wasn't just talking about saving your life. He saved his, too."
She had to know. "What if my injuries hadn't been life-threatening? Would he have turned me without my consent?"
Rowan shook her head. "Ryon is one of the most honorable men I know. He never would've taken that course of action unless it was to save his mate. If you hadn't wanted him, he would've let you go without saying a word."
"He would rather have died than force me," she whispered.
"Any of them would."
"That's probably how he feels now. Like I don't want him." She looked between the women in shame. "What happens to a mated shifter who feels rejected?"
"Eventually, he'd lose his will to live, I imagine," Kira said. "But don't worry about Ryon. He's made of stronger stuff than that. He won't give up easily."
"Take tonight for yourself," Rowan advised. "Give both of you the night to cool off. Then talk to him when he gets back from their search mission tomorrow."
She thought about that, then nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."
"Now, why don't I go back to our place and fetch stuff to make mojitos?" Kira suggested.
Rowan smiled. "Girl, I think that's the best idea I've heard all day."
Daria couldn't agree more.
. . .
"Jesse? This is Nick."
"If this is bad news, I'm hanging up," the man said gruffly. "I'm up to my dick in piranha."
"Don't get testy, I just have a question. You know that missing criminal attorney from Missouri that Daria's father called you about when he was trying to find her?"
"Yep. The guy's her ex-fiance."
"What did you say the man's name was?"
"Hang on." A shuffling of papers sounded on the other end. Nick didn't have to be a PreCog to see the mess. "Here it is. His name is Benjamin Cantrell."
"Oh, fuck." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he stared at the piece of paper on his desk.
"Why? What does that mean?"
"It means we've got a huge goddamned problem, and now I have to ask a favor. I need something containing Cantrell's DNA and I need it here yesterday. A strand of hair from his bathtub, his toothbrush, anything."
"What the hell is going on, Nicky? If you got a body, tell me."
"Oh, we've got something far, far worse than that. And if my information is correct, we've got an ID on our beast that's ripping up campers."
Bring the wolf to OR-4. I want to try to splice his DNA with human subject 356 again. I'm on the verge of a breakthrough.
Human subject 356-a missing human named Benjamin Cantrell.
. . .
Ryon suited up, pulling on his fatigues, slamming a clip loaded with silver bullets into his pistol, sheathing a wicked knife in his boot. If those human weapons weren't enough, he had his wolf. If he couldn't beat the beast, in wolf form he could hopefully outrun the bastard.
Ryon's group consisted of Jax, Aric, and Micah. The others had split up as well, covering other quadrants. Ryon's group focused on the area where the husband had been found, two miles from his wife. They would work their way outward in widening circles, looking for any sign that something large had come that way. Ryon wished his group had Kalen in it, so the Sorcerer could simply do his magical thing and shrivel the creature to nothing like he'd done with Malik's batlike Sluagh. But Aric could always torch him if things got bad.
Or he could if Nick hadn't given the order to take the thing alive if at all possible. Nothing worse than searching for the Incredible Hulk of paranormal beasts, except attempting to subdue it with a no kill order over your head. There were hopes that the man trapped inside his beastly counterpart could be saved.
He wasn't holding his breath.
Ryon parked the Range Rover as close as he could to the site of the second body and they walked the rest of the way. Aric carried a heavy net over one shoulder, Jax a coil of rope. "Nothing like having to play rodeo star with an enraged lizard."
"No fuckin' shit," Aric muttered. "It'd be a lot easier if I could just fry his ass. Then we could get on home and get laid."
"That's got my vote," Jax put in.
Micah remained silent, and Ryon studied his friend in concern. He never had much to say these days, and seemed kind of spacey. But he figured Nick knew best, letting him begin to take assignments although he was actually worse off than Phoenix, who still hadn't been cleared for duty.
A thirty-minute hike later, they came to the area where the man's body had been found. Crime scene tape was wrapped around the trees to form a rough circle, but if it hadn't been for that, there wouldn't have been much to mark where another life had ended so horribly.
Except the odor. Ryon detected old blood, and a more rancid smell that must belong to the beast. It was strong here, more so than at the first scene, for whatever reason. He wanted to gag.
The reminder that Daria had discovered the first body, and could easily have fallen victim to this creature as she went about her job, had him breaking out in a cold sweat. He was glad she was at the magically warded compound, well away from danger. That was about the only point in this day's favor.
Just to the right of the area marked by the crime scene tape, Ryon saw the glow of a figure seated on the ground. He moved closer and saw that it was the spirit of a man with his arms encircling his legs, staring forlornly into space.
"Whatcha got?" Aric asked. "Another Casper?"
"Yeah. It's the male victim. He's confused."
Ryon was about to try to question the man when another ghost appeared beside him-the woman that Ryon had seen twice before. Looking up, joy bloomed on the man's face and he bolted to his feet, taking her into his arms. They held on to each other as though they'd never let go, and a lump formed in Ryon's throat. He never got to see happy endings, and guessed this one was as close as he'd ever seen.
The man spun his wife around, then kissed her soundly. Then, hand in hand, they walked toward the trees . . . and disappeared into thin air.